Sizzling Celebrity Scandals of 2011

Published November 2, 2011•Updated on December 27, 2011 at 6:56 am

For celebrities, 2011 was chock full of heartbreak, fighting, meltdowns and some genuine "What?" moments. Click through to take a look at some of the year's hottest scandals.

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For celebrities, 2011 was chock full of bitter words, breakdowns and genuine "What?" moments. Of all the year's celebrity scandals, Charlie Sheen's may have been the biggest, involving rehab, restraining orders and firings. Click through for more celebrity scandals of the past year.

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Sheen — one of Hollywood's most stalwart partiers but star of the phenomenally successful CBS show "Two and a Half Men" — headed off the rails last January, causing the show's execs to beg him to go to rehab. Instead, he lashed out in incendiary interviews. The show fired him, sparking more rants and making Sheen's catchphrase — "Winning!" — a national punchline.

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Sheen also got involved in a contentious custody battle with ex-wife Brooke Mueller. The two lobbed accusations of drug abuse back and forth, and their children were removed from Sheen's home by police.

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Mueller and Sheen eventually settled and now share custody of their twin sons Bob and Max.

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Designer John Galliano was swiftly dismissed by French fashion house Christian Dior after a video surfaced that showed an anti-Semitic outburst at a Paris bar in February.

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In March, singer Chris Brown threw a fit following a "Good Morning America" appearance, trashing his dressing room and storming into the street shirtless. The tantrum came in response to questions about felony charges filed against him in 2009 after he beat his then-girlfriend Rihanna.

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This year Lindsay Lohan added a fifth mug shot to her collection. First she was charged with stealing a $2,500 necklace from a jewelry store, and then she got in trouble in the fall for not showing up for community service she was supposed to perform as part of her probation.

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She was trotted out of the courtroom in handcuffs after judge ordered her back to jail — but that lasted for all of a few hours.

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Happily, at her Dec. 14 court appearance with attorney Shawn Chapman Holley, the judge applauded the actress for keeping up with a strict new probation routine that includes counseling and work at the L.A. county morgue. She still has a ways to go, but we're rooting for her in 2012.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, long a political power couple, announced their separation in May. A week later, word came that Schwarzenegger had fathered a child with a household staff member more than a decade earlier.

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Famed film critic Roger Ebert got into a heated Twitter battle with fans when he tweeted unsympathetic remarks about the drunk driving death of "Jackass" star Ryan Dunn in June.

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In July, 25-year-old Playboy Playmate Crystal Harris called off her wedding to Hugh Hefner, 85, just days before they were to tie the knot. Harris later slammed Hef's bedroom performance.

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Russell Armstrong, the husband of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Taylor Armstrong, committed suicide in August, a few weeks after his wife filed for divorce.

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Mel Gibson and ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva were embroiled in a bitter custody battle over their daughter, Lucia, before they settled in August. The look inside their tempestuous relationship — with recordings of what sounded like Gibson going on sexist, racist and violent rants — did his damaged rep no favors.

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Country singer Hank Williams Jr. got himself fired as ESPN's official football hype man in October after he compared President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler in an interview with "Fox and Friends."

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In November, Conrad Murray was sent to jail on an involuntary manslaughter conviction for his role in the death of Michael Jackson.

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Rupert Murdoch's News International came under fire for allegedly hacking the phones of celebrities, the royal family and politicians alike. Murdoch says he had no knowledge of the activity. Nonetheless, a protester threw a shaving cream pie in the media titan's face during one of the hearings.

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Ashton Kutcher started the year strong, replacing Charlie Sheen on "Two and a Half Men." But amid gossip about infidelity, he and his wife of seven years Demi Moore divorced in November. He also disgraced himself when he later mistakenly tweeted his support of fired Penn State coach Joe Paterno. He said he didn't know why Paterno had been fired — though the entire Western world did.

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Perhaps it wasn't a scandal, but it sure raised eyebrows. Kim Kardashian and NBA star Kris Humphries were married in an over-the-top, black-and-white-attire wedding in August that was turned into a two-part television special. But 72 days later, Kim filed for divorce. Any bets that will be a television special in 2012?